Description
German architect born in Mainz, Germany, who received his architectural training under Lussow and Kuehne (Dresden, 1911-1912),
Walter Gropius (Berlin, 1912-1914), and Peter Behrens (Berlin, 1915-1916). After immigrating to the United States in 1938,
he worked in Chicago for Sears, Roebuck and Company. The papers contain photographs, correspondence, original documents, glass
slides, and many original drawings. About half of the drawings are his designs for consumer products produced by his employer
Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Background
Karl Schneider was born in Mainz Germany in 1892. He trained as an
architect under Lussow and Kühne (Dresden, 1911-1912), Walter Gropius
(Berlin, 1912-1914), and Peter Behrens (Berlin, 1915-1916). After serving in
the military from 1917 to 1919, Schneider established architectural firm in
Hamburg, which he directed until 1933. His Villa Michaelsen, well-received by
critics when completed in 1923, brought him numerous private commissions for
domestic architecture. In the later 1920s Schneider joined a group of
architects known as "Der Ring," whose stated goal was to reject past-enshrined
forms and employ the latest technology to solve contemporary building problems.
This group included among its members Otto Bartning, Peter Behrens, Walter
Gropius, Erich Mendelsohn, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, among others. In 1926,
Schneider's designs for the Großseidlung Jarrestadt-Barmbek, a
city-sponsored competition, won first prize and brought further financial and
artistic rewards.
Extent
59 boxes, 10 flat file folders
(ca. 45 lin. ft.
Restrictions
Contact Library Rights and Reproductions
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.